Ingredients
Scale
- Sepen (Chili Sauce) Ingredients:
- ½ cup onion cut into ⅛-inch dice
- 6 tablespoons scallions, sliced paper thin
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 12–16 green and red Thai bird chiles, finely minced
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons safflower oil
- 2 pinches of Himalayan pink salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garam masala spice blend
- 1 teaspoon ground emma (erma/yerma/Sichuan peppercorns) (optional but strongly recommended)
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- Dough Ingredients:
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 ½ cups Korean or Chinese noodle (or some other form of high gluten) flour, plus extra flour as needed
- 5 tablespoons boiling hot, unsalted chicken stock, strained
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- Filling Ingredients:
- ½ pound finely minced (or ground) organic 80–20 beef or ground yak meat (strongly preferred)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil + additional for the steamer
- ⅓ cup onion, cut into ⅛-inch dice
- ½ tablespoon ginger, grated on a microplane
- 2 scallions, trimmed and sliced paper thin
- ⅛ cup finely minced de-stringed celery
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 5 teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- The dough:
- Mash the garlic in a mortar and pestle with a few tablespoons stock. Add the remaining stock and allow to steep 30 minutes.
- Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Strain the stock through a sieve into well in the flour. Use a circular motion with your fingers to incorporate the stock into the flour and then knead in the bowl or on the counter for 3 minutes or so to make a stiff smooth dough. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
- Separate the dough into 4 pieces. Roll the pieces into 1 inch ropes. Cut or break the ropes into ½ ounce pieces and then roll into balls. Dust with flour and flatten slightly.
- Using a small rolling pin, roll the balls into 2 inch rounds, putting pressure on the edges. You want the edges to be thinner than the center. Dust with flour and stack.
- The filling:
- Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix until blended. Cook a small piece of the mixture and taste. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Put a tablespoon of filling in the center of each round. Pleat the edges to form the momo, then gently tug the ends and use your thumbs to massage the momo into a crescent.
- Brush an aluminum or bamboo steamer with oil to keep the momos from sticking.
- Set the momos in the steamer, so they aren’t touching.
- Set the steamer on top of a pot of boiling water and steam 15-20 minutes.
- The momo are ready when your fingers don’t stick to them.
- Serve immediately with Sepen dipping sauce.
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- SEPEN – CHILI DIPPING SAUCE
- Combine the onion, 4 tablespoons scallions, garlic and chilies in a mortar and pestle.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil and mash everything to a paste. Add the soy sauce and mash again.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in small pan. Add the scallions and cook 1 minute. Add the paste and cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic. Add 4 tablespoons water and cook 30 seconds.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, emma and cumin. Taste, then season with salt. Mix everything together and allow to macerate. Serve with momos.
